Young Children’s Use of Smart-Media and Variables Affecting Overuse Displayed by a Smart Media Child User Group
AUTHOR : 박소영,문혁준
INFORMATION : page. 25~45 / 2015 Vol.22 No.3
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to reveal to what extent child’s characteristics(dispositions) and mother’s
characteristics(parenting stress, parenting actions, and smart media addiction) can be used as variables
to measure their influences on overuse of smart media among 3-5 year-old children. For investigating
the reality of smart media usage, smart media users were categorized as either regular users or
high-risk users. Participants consisted of 686 young children from thirteen educational institutions in
Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The collected self-report data were analyzed using
frequency (percentage), Cronbach’s alpha, cross tab analyses, correlation analyses and comparing two
correlation coefficients. The key findings suggested that depending on the children's smart media
usage, there were statistically significant differences only among various institutions and household
incomes, the start of children’s smart media usage, the average usage time on weekdays and
weekends, the person who determines the child’s smart media usage, the person who uses smart
media with the child, the existence of guidelines in the household, and the reason for allowing the
child to use smart media. Second, a child’s variables and a mother’s variables result of examining the
relationship between smart media overuse the mother’s smart media addiction showed the highest
positive correlations in the regular user group. Third, the setting of guidelines for parenting
actions had the most positive correlations in the high-risk user group. This study provide useful
information and data required for the development of smart media over-use prevention programs.